Peter Voorhees

College News

News Release

College Trustees Adopt $39.1 Million Budget

June 12, 2014

The Tompkins Cortland Community College Board of Trustees has adopted a $39,146,117 budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins September 1, 2014. The budget includes a $200 increase in full-time tuition for New York State residents (from $4,300 to $4,500 per year) and a $5 increase per credit hour in part-time tuition New York State (from $152 per credit to $157 per credit). The budget includes an increase of 3 percent in total taxpayer dollars provided by Tompkins and Cortland counties.

Highlights of the budget include:
• The $39.1 million budget is 2.19 percent higher than the approved budget for 2013-43. Factors contributing to the increase include new academic programs, health care and retirement systems costs, and early retirement incentives.
• Projected enrollment for 2014-15 is 3,748 FTEs, a slight decrease (2 FTEs) from the projected enrollment for 2013-14.
• The cost of employee benefits is projected to go up 5.51 percent. The increase is primarily due to projected retirement incentive payouts.
• The budget includes a 4.65 percent increase in full-time tuition for New York State residents, from $4,300 per year to $4,500 per year. Part-time tuition for New York State residents will increase 3.29 percent from $152 per credit to $157 per credit. Overall, the College projects revenue from tuition and fees will be slightly more than $19.5 million, an increase of 0.25 percent.
• The budget includes an increase of 3 percent in contributions from Tompkins and Cortland counties. Despite the increase, the percentage of the total budget funded by the sponsor counties will still decrease, down to 11.9 percent from 12.1 percent last year. Tompkins’ share is $2,872,283, while Cortland’s is $1,686,897. Each county’s share is determined based on a three-year average enrollment ratio.
• The budget includes state aid to community colleges of $2,497 per FTE, a 3.1 percent increase in the rate from the 2013-14 budget. Total state aid revenue is projected at more than $10.1 million, an increase of more than $230,000.
• The budget appropriates $88,528 of the College’s fund balance. The 2013-14 budget did not use any of the fund balance, but the 2012-13 budget included $250,000 from the fund balance.

Tompkins and Cortland counties and the State University of New York Board of Trustees must approve the budget. The Cortland County Legislature is expected to act on the spending plan at its June 26 meeting. The Tompkins County Legislature is scheduled to vote July 1. The State University Board of Trustees will act on the budget in September.